


In the Clearing

by impish



Category: LazyTown
Genre: Bakery AU, M/M, Rating May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-16
Updated: 2018-01-18
Packaged: 2019-03-05 13:41:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13388988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/impish/pseuds/impish
Summary: Robbie bought a bakery in the clearing of a forest where things used to be perfectly quiet and peaceful. Just as things get busier and weirder, a stranger comes into his life to make things a lot more magical. He's not entirely sure if that means it's much better.





	1. First Meeting

Business-minded people would have warned Robbie Rotten against buying the strange house in the clearing of the forest and turning it into a bakery. People who knew he'd make more money from his expertise in mechanics would too. Not to mention everyone who kept suggesting that he stopped isolating himself... But of course, Robbie Rotten wouldn't have listened to any of them.

The house was hard to find at first, so customers were few and far between, but money was no object for Robbie. The biggest issues for him were the usual fatigue and insomnia, or birds singing too chirpily in the face of his grumpy mood. He even used to make time for a little idle chit-chat.

There was a kind of game he invented, but he'd never call it that. He would call it a plot. Or lying to strangers. Some way to keep it so no one discovered that he needed some human interaction, from time to time, just like the rest of us.

The truth is, he's a natural storyteller and a recluse, so it started with him trying to keep a regular customer from getting to know him too well - evading the questions got too difficult, and the truth was even worse in his eyes so he invented these characters for himself.

Accents, backstories, everything. He was just so bad at coming up with original names.

"Ah! I miss the days where I could dance!" Robbie had said, loud and dramatic, with his best Russian accent to an enraptured audience. "My daughter, my doll, she is wonderful! She is a dancer herself now."

The curious head-tilt of the woman sat in the booth by the window caught his eye and he started getting ready to admit that it's all a story. He'd not greeted her with this accent... and he started to think she'd been in a few days ago - when he was an Italian chef who longed for something sweeter than pizza.

The rush of pre-embarrassment turned his face red and made his stomach drop.

"Aw, that's so sweet Mr. Rotenski! What's your daughter's name, again?" She said. She was sweet, and young. The smile on her face was kind and knowing, but not the smirk of someone about to call someone on a lie.

Still, Robbie gulped.

"Rott-- Rottenella."

The family of three who'd been listening so intently before gave each other a look, but everyone went along with it. 

Robbie freaked out so much when she asked another question, he only caught the tail end of it... Something about her mother.

"I'm _gay._ " He blurted out suddenly, forgetting to be in character. 

_Did that even sound Russian?_ he asked himself.

A moment passed before he dove right back into character about how it was a miracle she came into his life and he got lost in it all. The awkwardness was (probably... hopefully) forgotten. 

The lady tipped generously, and left with the same kind and knowing smile on her face. 

Robbie still didn't feel at ease.

He went over and over the situation again in his head as he tried to sleep. Of course, this was his nightly routine, especially if there was something Robbie could beat himself up about, but this was different. He couldn't put his finger on it.

A few days after the incident, Robbie noticed something.

The bakery was busier. Where he used to have a maximum of three or four tables to deal with, he now had all six tables filled, and people sat on all nine seats at the counter.

He wasn't sure what to do when the realisation hit him, he just stood there, blinking.

"I need more chairs..." he said to himself.

So his brother came to visit, helped him put in a few more tables and make use of the beautiful landscape to seat people outside.

And somehow Robbie convinced Glanni to stay and work for him. Every day he woke up and tried to decide whether he regretted that decision or not.

People wanted to buy his cakes, his pies, his pastries and people were making orders to go... He saw it as a breath of fresh air that he got to focus more on the baking, and had way less of an opportunity to embarrass himself.

However, Glanni's style of storytelling wasn't quite so fun or really all that creative. It creeped Robbie out a little sometimes, how easily his brother could tell obvious lies and seemed to get away with it - he wondered, was he like that?

Glanni would lean on the tables, look forlornly out of the window, press his hand over his heart... Whenever Robbie looked over, he just pictured a woman in a 1940s detective film, all black and white. If he'd had more sleep than usual, it made him laugh.

This was not one of those days.

Something strange was happening in the forest. The sky was a shade of blueish-purple and the moonlight shining through the trees was mesmerisingly beautiful. The trees were swaying slowly like they were swept up in several breezes, but the night was still and calm.

Robbie and Glanni were night owls, so they had no problem keeping the bakery open until late most of the time, but on this particular night business was slow. The last of the customers were long gone, having listened to Glanni spin them a sad tale of two orphans doing all they can to get by in the world, living the high life in the circus but having to leave their found family behind when it burned down. 

"Always moving around, seeing so many strangers. That's why my brother here never learned very good social skills... and also why I'm so flexible." Glanni said with a wink.

But when they were gone, Glanni's precious time of counting his tips was interrupted by Robbie poking him hard in the side.

"I've done circus ringmaster before, get your own material." Robbie's voice was croaking from barely being used all day. He sat down opposite Glanni.

"Clean your ears out, brother dear, I said we were precious orphans who joined the circus, not the ringleaders." 

There was a pause. Robbie could tell Glanni was going easy on him, but didn't know what to say. He couldn't just say it outright, and spark up a conversation about Robbie being tired and distant and depressed. Robbie couldn't thank him for acting subtly gentler than normal or things wouldn't feel normal at all. 

So all he could do was slump down in his chair and join the half-hearted banter.

"It's ringmaster." 

"That doesn't sound right..."

"I was Roberto the Great once, I would know."

"That's..." Glanni chuckles, "Okay, but you made him up. And Robbie? Your names are shi--"

Glanni was interrupted by the door opening suddenly.

Robbie jumped approximately nine feet into the air.

Then the most handsome man Robbie had ever seen walked into his bakery, dressed in a ridiculous outfit. In the glow coming through the windows, he nearly didn't look real. Robbie thought it must just be sleep deprivation, because this man was definitely real. With how zoned out he was, Robbie wondered if maybe it was him who wasn't really here right now.

The stranger was tanned and muscular and perfect... but Robbie just couldn't stop looking at his moustache. It was only by staring at the strange facial hair could Robbie tell that the man was talking.

"Again, I am so sorry-- are you okay?" He said, his eyes were so gentle, and he stepped towards Robbie with an understanding head tilt.

Robbie started nodding, and it was getting faster. He opened his mouth to speak, when Glanni got up and stood between them.

"You'll have to excuse my dearest brother. He's mute and he gets jumpy at night... We're closing up here, darling," He said. A firm statement. Robbie wondered if this was Glanni's annoyance at being interrupted or because he thought he needed to protect Robbie from a guy who just startled him.

The stranger laughed nervously and took a step back.

"Oh! Uh, sorry! Um..." He fumbled for a moment, but took a breath and composed himself. "My name is Sportacus, do you sign?" He said and signed.

Glanni was about to say something when Robbie's hand flew over his mouth and he pushed his older brother to the side.

"My brother was lying to you... Sorry-- Your name is...?"

"Sportacus," he said, even brighter than before.

"Right... Look, did you want to buy something? We still have some stock fresh from today."

"Oh, I don't know... Can I look?"

"Sure..."

Sportacus rushed over to the counter, looking delighted and breathing deeply through his nose. Robbie and Glanni shared a look. Robbie watched his brother pull out his phone and start texting and sure enough, three seconds later, his phone buzzed in his pocket.

_probably the only way he enjoys sweets. look at the body on this weirdo. x_

Robbie rolled his eyes and turned his phone off as Sportacus turned to him.

"... Do you have anything sugar free?"

Robbie was taken aback. How could such a nice-seeming good-looking man ask such a thing?!

"Uhh... not at the moment?" Robbie said, unsure about why his unconscious brain wanted this man to come back so badly. "We can figure something out?"

Glanni hit his forehead against the table, but neither man paid him any attention.

Robbie was shocked hearing that come out of his mouth, but watching the smile form on Sportacus' face didn't make him feel any better. He was about to make vague excuses about how he shouldn't get his hopes up when he was cut off by a horrible beeping sound. He flinched.

"Sorry! Sorry! I have to go--" Sportacus said quickly, the terrible noise apparently coming from whatever runners' gear hands-free thing he had. "I'll see you soon!"

And with that he ran out of the door. Through the window, Robbie thought he saw him do some crazy unnecessary flips and handsprings, but he was too confused to believe his eyes.

"Well, I guess we're closing up shop forever." He said, slumping in a chair and not even looking at his brother.

"Oh, am I allowed to speak now? Is the handsome weirdo gone now, so you can be nice to your big brother?" Glanni sat up, glaring at Robbie. "Seriously, that's your type? A health nut with a pencil moustache? Ugh."

"It's not like that! I didn't even notice anything about-- handsome-ness. He was a customer! Business was slow today!"

"I'm calling bull."

"He was just-- I don't care! All I know is he can never step foot in here again. I'll embarrass myself or poison him because-- SUGAR FREE, Glanni! What?! That goes against everything I love and stand for!"

Glanni laughs and pats Robbie on the shoulder as the younger brother slumps forward. When his head reaches the table, he sighs.

"I'm so tired."

Glanni finished up closing by himself, using the fact he's doing him a favour to tell Robbie all about what a disaster that was and how he's going to end up being kidnapped by a hot stranger because no-one is that genuinely sweet, but the alternative is dying alone.

So he had that to think about, on top of the strange purple sky when he tried to sleep that night.


	2. In a Daze

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robbie is frazzled after his meeting with Sportacus for several reasons... He tries to combat this by keeping his head down at work.

Robbie walked through the early morning, before even the sun was fully awake. It was an easy enough morning, fighting through the fatigue and the aches and the constant chatter from his brain. He'd dealt with those things for years, what harm was another morning?

_I just need coffee. That's it. And a nice long vacation. Maybe forever... How much is it to buy a resort? All alone. Except for people who bring me all-you-can-eat cake..._

The only way Robbie could stop himself drooling and getting distracted was by tripping over his over feet and standing bolt upright with a jolt. Which forced him to notice something... The winding cobbled path he usually followed had a new fork in it. And all of the stones in it were like shining amythests.

_Now, Robbie... you can't just go wandering down this twisty-turny road. You are a GENIUS! You must... examine it first!_

And with that he dropped to his hands and knees. He peered at them, he poked at them and he pulled at them with all of his strength (but, of course, that really wasn't all that much). He couldn't get them to move. He couldn't get them to do much of anything. 

"Stupid rocks..." he mumbled, climbing up to his feet and giving one of the more protruding ones a little kick.

That's when the stupid rocks started getting interesting. They pulsated with a purple glow... and with the loudest, most horrible ringing sound Robbie had ever heard.

And with that, he found himself sat bolt upright in his reclining chair, looking over at his landline phone, sweating like a pig and feeling like his heart was in his throat. This was all too terrible, Robbie lay back down and put the pillow over his face to muffle the big scream he just had to let out.

Of course he dreamt he woke up early. Of course. And then Glanni had to call him, probably to tell Robbie how much he hates him and that he's quitting. But it's a rule - whenever that phone rings, Robbie answers. But usually that was for when he'd been isolating himself or Glanni's worried or actually about to skip the country. Usually he just called Robbie's mobile...

But Robbie had turned off his mobile after meeting Sportacus and not wanting to be bothered by Glanni. Which explained how the seven alarms Robbie usually needed to wake up (if he got any sleep at all) hadn't gone off! Had he even set them? He couldn't stop his brain going over all the times last night he could have checked and stopped this from happening. _Stupid Robbie, stupid, stupid._

Robbie scrambled to his phone and took a deep, calming breath.

"I'm so sorry, it was so stupid I forgot to turn my phone back on - I know you hate opening up, don't hate me, I am on my way right now! Right now!" Robbie rambled. But then he heard Glanni laugh on the other end on the phone... He frowned.

"Right now? Shouldn't you get dressed first?" Glanni said. Robbie looked down at his striped pyjamas, still pretty on-edge.

"You don't hate me?"

"Oh, shut up, Robbie. I'm a big boy, I can handle a few customers on my own. Besides, this is great, you just owe me a favour now," Robbie could hear Glanni's sly grin in his voice. "I was just calling to make sure you got here quickly. In fact, I think this is going to earn me another favour..."

Click. Dial tone.

Robbie put the phone back down and sighed. He tried to take one more calming breath, but it wasn't working. He started rushing into some kind of routine to get himself ready.

He ran to the wardrobe, put new clothes on at lightning speed, but then remembered he should probably wash first. So he headed to the bathroom, where before he could even squeeze some shower gel onto a washcloth, he noticed his hair in the mirror. This was suddenly his top priority. Even in times of trouble, Robbie always tried to keep his hair looking okay... that way he could kid himself that he was on top of his self-care.

So he relaxed himself as he put the gel in his hair, some make-up on his tired face, then the soap on his skin, then the clothes on his body. It worked for a minute, feeling accomplished and ready to go, but then he started wondering about what Glanni had said... Something that would make him rush down to the bakery?

Oh.

Oh no...

Knowing Glanni, this was something illegal (the bakery is suddenly the latest venue for shady, anything-goes poker games), something Robbie won't even find funny (two children fighting and making too much noise, while Glanni cheers them on and tries to place bets, therefore adding to the noise), or something embarrassing. Something like "Sportacus" being there.

_That cannot be his real name _Robbie thought to himself as he left his home. He dragged his feet a little, taking in some sights and trying to "find joy" in them or whatever.__

__It was moments like these he was grateful that he lived on the outskirts of LazyTown. Even if his mornings were miserable and his body was aching, the likelihood of him being startled by people and their cars and their children was way less than if he lived and worked in the central part._ _

__Robbie walked towards the woods, hoping the outdoor air would magically cure him of his headache._ _

___Ugh,_ he shuddered. _Fresh air? Finding joy? Silly nonsense.__ _

__He folded his arms and started walking faster. Now he was getting grumpy, wondering what the hell his brain thinks it's doing bringing up all this health magazine balderdash._ _

__Then it hit him._ _

__He stopped walking and threw his arms up in the air._ _

__"No!" He cried, scaring away a flock of birds. "No, no, no, no, nooooo. Not letting one meeting with a stupid handsome health-nut start getting me... weird and obsessed and embarrassed and-- ... He's not even that handsome. I will be over this in a week. I will never eat an orange."_ _

__He started walking, continuing his little pep-talk to himself all the way to the bakery._ _

__"I will never eat an almond, I will never eat a pear, I will never eat a cucumber, I will never eat an eggplant, I will never TOUCH an avacado, I will never eat an apple..."_ _

__He was still muttering when he opened the door to the bakery, hunched over with his head down._ _

__"Well, good morning, Sleeping Beauty!" Glanni called out, loud and smug - his default setting. Robbie glared at him, just catching the sickly, dainty little wave that went with the horrible greeting._ _

__Then as he took a few more grumpy steps into his workplace, he realised why his brother was being extra embarrassing. Sat at a table with a glass of water and a child, was their new friend Sportacus._ _

__Robbie was going to try ducking into the kitchen to start baking without being seen, but his eye was caught by this girl sat with Sportacus. She had bright pink hair._ _

___That can't be right... She's too young for dye!_ He thought. In his frazzled state, Robbie decided that this might be an indicator of him dreaming again and just to be safe, he pinched his arm._ _

__Sadly, Sportacus chose that exact moment to look up and give the warmest smile and friendliest wave to Robbie, who could only respond with an embarrassed half-wave before practically running to his kitchen._ _

__When he got far enough from the door, Robbie leaned on a counter and let out a big sigh. Leaning forward and putting his face in his hands, he finally felt like he had a moment to pause and think for himself, or at the very least think about something more calming. Like baking. He could just put on his apron and start getting to work - feeling dough in his hands, stirring cake batter, working with tricky icing - anything he felt like, really. He looked up at the clock on the wall and felt a rush of motivation like a fire underneath him because it was half past eleven and they were running out of things to sell out there. Even if it did seem quite quiet, it was time to make some fresh stock._ _

__Luckily for Robbie, when his body decided to let him focus, he could stay in the zone until the task was absolutely done. Which is how he managed to look up at the clock when he was done five hours and forty-five minutes later._ _

__Snapping out of the daze that hyper-focusing had left him in, he felt calmer and ready to talk to Glanni. Still covered in flour, leaving the kitchen in a mess, he went out onto the shop floor._ _

__Sure enough, Glanni was leaning on the counter, helping himself to a Danish pastry. Robbie didn't even slap it out of his hand... he probably forgot to let him take a lunch break in his dazed state._ _

__"Sorry everything was on you today..." Robbie said, sheepishly. He fidgeted with his hands as he watched his older brother try and chew faster so he can speak sooner. While he waited, Robbie took note of the fact there was one customer... a lady who came there regularly, and it looked like she was leaving soon - her notebook was closed and her glass and plate were empty._ _

__"You've said that, we've had this conversation, sweetheart. Did you skip straight past your mid-life crisis so you could go loopy and get put in a nursing home? I know you'd love to be waited on hand and foot."_ _

__"Oh, uh... No. Just a long day. Hot kitchen. Must've fried my brain... Has it been this quiet all day?" Robbie said, deciding that it was his absolute right to rip that half-eaten pastry in half and teach his brother to share._ _

__"Well, not _this_ dead," Glanni said, deadpan, gesturing to the empty customer space. "Why? Worrying about profits isn't like you, especially considering you have one member of staff. Then again, he is so reliable, so dependable, so _brilliant_ that he probably deserves a much bigger cut than you're giving him..."_ _

__Robbie rolled his eyes, ignoring that statement and going outside to sort the furniture._ _

__Clouds were rolling in and trying to ruin the sunset that was starting to turn the sky a lovely shade of orange. It made Robbie miss his chair..._ _

__He decided not to stack this last chair just yet. Maybe he could just take a minute to be lazy, sit in this chair and watch the sun set. After all, he did just make a dozen iced cupcakes, two dozen bread rolls, one tiered chocolate fudge cake, six glazed donuts and about 30 chocolate chip cookies all in one go._ _

__Unfortunately for him, going over this list was a lot more effective than counting sheep ever had been. He barely even felt his head tilt back as he nodded off into an accidental nap._ _

__He didn't dream of anything weird this time, but he was still thinking about baked goods just piling up and piling up and he was starting to get a little bit stressed from the sheer amount of baked goods he was surrounded by. This stress meant that he was sleeping lightly again. Lightly enough so that when Sportacus jogged past the bakery, coming through the forest, he startled Robbie out of his skin._ _

__"Hi Robbie!" He shouted, jogging past._ _

__"BREAD!"_ _

__This response made both men pause for a moment. Sportacus started laughing._ _

___Oh no no no no no, don't do this, don't come over here_. But unfortunately, if Robbie was psychic, it wasn't working on this man. Sportacus jogged over._ _

__"Sorry, I really must stop frightening you!"_ _

__"Yeah..." Robbie really didn't know how to handle this situation._ _

__"Did I wake you?" Sportacus asked, looking kind of like he'd like to jog away from this situation too. He peered into the bakery. Only one person had gone in while Robbie was resting, and Glanni was keeping them entertained by the looks of it. "If you nap now, you'll have trouble sleeping!"_ _

__"If I nap now, I'll have a great time sleeping, thank you very much. You make no sense. Like your name." Robbie hoped he didn't sound as grumpy as he did in his head._ _

__"I meant _properly_ sleeping. You know, at night!" If Sportacus hated Robbie for being grumpy, it didn't show in his laugh. Robbie could calm down a little bit. "Besides, you're the one who makes no sense... you just shouted "bread" at me..."_ _

__"Right..." Robbie said, dragging the word out so he could think._ _

___Robbie Rotten, you are a genius. You can design and build specialist equipment in a day. You can think of reasons for saying"bread" before this awkward pause gets too long..._ _ _

__"You wanted something sugar free! There was sugar in my last bread recipe - just a pinch - but I made more today. No sugar. So. Yeah." Robbie felt like patting himself on the back. He visibly straightened in his chair and started smiling._ _

__"Oh, that's fantastic, Robbie! Thank you for doing that!" Sportacus' smile was so bright, it could've sent the rainclouds away. Robbie avoided eye contact._ _

__"Well, we're a business... I need to get as many people to buy things as possible so... may as well conform to your health nut agenda." Robbie said, laughing awkwardly and squirming in his seat. Sometimes he had trouble telling whether he was just grouchy to the core or whether he actually had a good sense of humour - it didn't help when people failed to get his jokes sometimes. Luckily for him, even when Sportacus was debating "health nut" stuff, he tended to do it with a laugh or smile._ _

__"It's not an agenda! I just... help people!"_ _

__"Yeah, help people ignore the fun things in life..." Robbie grumbled before he could stop himself. He cringed when he realised that he's probably being rude - he had to remind himself that he met this man yesterday, and that he couldn't keep acting like they're familiar or get too comfortable, because Robbie has always had too many quirks and off-putting edges in his personality to make _friends_ like this._ _

__But Sportacus laughed again._ _

___Maybe this is a weird prank._ Robbie thought._ _

__"Okay, Robbie... I have to go. Sorry again - for startling you. And thanks again for making that bread! I'll have to stop by tomorrow!"_ _

__It took Robbie longer than most people to realise he could have responded to that. He just blurted out "goodnight!" as Sportacus jogged away, out of view, deeper into the forest._ _

__He decided he could stay sat outside for a while longer. After all of that approval from Mr. Healthy, he could do with being lazy a bit longer... He had a reputation to uphold._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!!
> 
> And thanks to everyone who commented on the first chapter!!!
> 
> I never usually write in the past tense, so bear with me if there are any inconsistencies :)
> 
> (also, i promise the kids will actually be in the next chapter, and more than just a glimpse!!!)


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